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The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper
Tom McGarth Mark Burton Billy Forlick |release=October 7, 2005 |runtime=12 minutes |rating=G |available=DVD Blu-ray Apple TV Amazon Video YouTube }} is a computer-animated short produced by , and the first Christmas-themed production spun off from the Madagascar films. The 12-minute film showcases a Christmas-themed adventure starring the Penguins of Madagascar (as titled by their later series on ). The short premiered in theaters on October 7, 2005, in front of the film . It was directed by animation veteran Gary Trousdale, produced by Teresa Cheng, and written by Michael Lachance. Synopsis On a Christmas Eve sometime before the events of the original Madagascar film, the animals of the New York Zoo are all celebrating on Christmas Eve, except for the lonely polar bear, Ted. Private, seeing how sad Ted is, asks Skipper if they can go give Ted a present, but Kowalski says they do not have one. In spite of this, Private slips out of the zoo on Christmas Eve to find a present for Ted. About half an hour later, the other three Penguins notice that Private is missing and go looking for him. While roaming the streets of Manhattan, Private searches for Ted's present at a toy kiosk, but is suddenly nabbed by Nana (the mean old lady from the first film), who mistakes him for a chew toy. She purchases Private and brings him home as a Christmas present for her vicious dog, Mr. Chew. Unbeknownst to Nana, the other three penguins manage to sneak into the apartment building in which she lives and break into her apartment to save Private. They escalate into chaos against Mr. Chew, all-the-while unnoticed by Nana, who is very occupied watching a football game. When they are done, they blow up the door with dynamite (something Rico has been wanting to use throughout the picture) and make their getaway, leaving Mr. Chew to be harshly scolded by Nana for what the penguins have done to her place. As the penguins head back to the zoo, Private admits he still feels sorry for Ted, so the penguins invite Ted to their home for Christmas. But he has already invited several other guests (including the main characters from the movies), resulting in a massive sing-a-long to a parody of "Jingle Bells". Songs Availability Right after the short's original theatrical release, it made its DVD debut as a bonus feature on the original DVD release of the first Madagascar movie, released on November 15, 2005. At the same time, in stores, it was available on "The Penguins' Wrecked-Out Holidays" DVD that was released in their exclusive two-pack with Madagascar. It was later released on a DVD titled Party with the Penguins, which was sold only as part of a two-disc DVD set with Merry Madagascar at Walmart starting November 19, 2009, in the USA. When Merry Madagascar was re-released as a wide retail DVD, the short was included as a bonus feature. It was later featured on the DreamWorks Holiday Collection compilation Blu-ray and DVD, released on October 30, 2012. The short can also be found on Netflix, under the DreamWorks shorts collections, DreamWorks Holiday Collection, and Happy Holidays from Madagascar, released by Classic Media. Its latest release was as part of the Madasgascar: The Ultimate Collection and DreamWorks Ultimate Holiday Collection Blu-ray and DVD sets, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, on October 15, 2019. Cast Note: Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, Mason and Phil appear at the beginning and ending of the short, but do not have speaking parts. See also *''Merry Madagascar'' *"The All Nighter Before Christmas" External links * DreamWorks Wiki: A Christmas Caper * Madagascar Wiki: A Christmas Caper * Category:Shorts Category:Theatrical releases Category:DreamWorks Category:2005 releases Category:Specials based on movies